Jaddanbai

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Jaddanbai (1892 or 1908 - April 8, 1949) was an early singer, music composer, actress and filmmaker of Bollywood and one of the pioneers of Indian cinema. She was the mother of well-known actress, Nargis.

Jaddanbai was born in Banaras, Uttar Pradesh in 1892 or 1908. She was rumoured to be the illegitimate daughter of Motilal Nehru and the famed courtesan, Daleepabai of Allahabad. Jaddanbai was raised in Allahabad. She was born a Hindu, picked from a mela of kothawalas and kothewalis when she was a child, and groomed a tawaif. Jaddanbai became a disciple of the noted thumri singer, Ustad Moijuddin Khan, and the equally noted Ustad Barkat Ali Khan. Jaddanbai became a film and singing star and was a friend of Mehboob Khan.

Jaddanbai had three children from three different men. Fatima A. Rashid was named by her father, Uttamchand Mohanchand (known as Mohanbabu) and adopted the name Nargis for films. Her second child, Akhtar, became a director and actor, however, he chose not to be as involved as his siblings. Finally, Anwar Hussain acted in the films of Bollywood. When Jaddanbai composed the music for Talashe Haq (1935), she became the first female music composer of Indian cinema. In 1936, Jaddanbai established Sangeet Films, producing films featuring her daughter, Nargis, as a child artiste. However, failing family fortunes forced Jaddanbai to cast her daughter in leading roles from the tender age of fourteen and Nargis became the sole bread-earner for the family.